Victims of the Mokwa flood disaster in Niger State have been awarded a total of N808 million cash compensation, the authorities confirmed at the weekend.
458 stricken families were all paid N1 million each, the Secretary of Mokwa Local Government Area and relief committee chairman, Dauda Liman, said. 424 burnt shops and houses were also compensated equally with N500,000 each, and 138 families of victims who lost their lives were given N1 million each. Liman made sure that the victims omitted in the first and second batches would be paid under the third phase.
The leader of the Hausa community in Mokwa, Alhaji Tanko Bala, reported that 75 to 80 percent of the survivors were provided with interventions of food and cash by the Niger State government, donor agencies, and individuals. The 20–25 percent, he noted, were mostly those who relocated to surrounding villages or returned to their respective home states.
Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) Director Relief and Rehabilitation, Salihu Garba, stated that co-operation between the agency and community-based organisations had ensured that the disaster was handled efficiently. He went on to add that complaints by the victims had been forwarded to the government for redress.
